Liquid separator apparatus



Aug. 13, 1946. A. LAWSON ET A1. 2,405,838

LIQUID SEPARATOR APPARATUS Filed' March l, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 BY Y ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 13a, 1946 LIQUID SEPARATOR APPARATUS Archibald Lawson, East Orange, N. J., and Charles M. Young, Newburgh, N. Y.

Application March 1, 1944, serial No. 524,562 f Claims.

This invention relates, generally, to improvements in apparatus for separating mixed liquids of different specific gravities; and the invention has reference, more particularly, to a novel apparatus for separating oil from boiler feed water, and especially for separating from Water of condensation any oil suspended therein prior to return of Vsuch water as a feed supply to a steam generating boiler.

This invention has for an object to provide a novel separator apparatus for the purposes stated comprising a closed vhousing containing a plurality of spaced, substantially perpendicular, foraminous bodies or interstitial masses through which mixed liquids of diierent specific gravities, such as oil bearing water, delivered into the housing, is successively passed; said foraminous bodies or interstitial masses operating to retard movement of suspended oil particles, whereby to permit accumulative agglomeration thereof into relatively large oil bodies, while at the same time exercising a capillary effect upon the accumulated oil bodies, whereby the same tend to ascend through said foraminousvbodies vor interstitial masses and discharge therefrom to the upper portion of the housing interior, and thus, by reason of the lower specific gravity of the oil relative to that of vthe water, to collect and form a separated liquid oil mass within the upper interior of the housing, and above the Water mass, so that the lower portion of the latter Yis free of oil.

The invention has for another object to provide a separator apparatus of the kind mentioned comprising a closed housing having means for admitting mixed liquids to be treated through the side thereof, and yprovided within the interior thereof', for extension between its bottom and top walls, with a plurality of spaced concentrically related foraminous bodies or interstitial masses which are surrounded by open spaces or wells; said housing having means for discharging water from the bottom interior portion thereof, and means communicating with said open spaces or wells for discharging oil from the top interior portion thereof.

Other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularly enumerated, will be understood from the following detailed description of the same.

An illustrative embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is avertical longitudinal sectional View o f aseparator apparatus made according to this invention; and Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view thereof, taken on line 2-2 in Fig. 1.

Similar characters of reference are employed in the hereinabove described views, to indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, the reference character I0 indicates a housing, preferably of cylindrical form, which is closed by a bottom wall Il and a top wall I2. The top wall I2 is preferably adapted to be removed from the housing I0, being normally secured to a top flange I3 of the latter by bolts I4, or other suitable fastening means. The joint between said top wall I2 and top flange I3 is sealed by an interposed gasket I5.

Arranged within'the interior of the housing Ill, to extend perpendicularly between its bottom and top walls I I and I2, are annular foraminous bodies or interstitial masses IS disposed in concentric spaced relation tov each other and to the sides and axial center portion of said housing, whereby to provide an outer chamber or well I'I, one or more intermediate chambers or wells I8, according to the number of spaced interstitial masses employed, and an inner or central chamber or well I9.

The foraminous bodies or interstitial masses I6 are each held inplace by a pair of laterally spaced cylindrical perforate walls or grilles 20, which respectively bound inner and outer sides thereof; said Walls or grilles being footed within spacer rings 2| which are suitably secured to the bottom wall of the housing I0, and which embrace the lower marginal portions of said walls or grilles, whereby to retain the same against lateral displacement from their supporting relation to the side faces of said foraminous bodies or interstitial masses I6.

The foraminous bodies or interstitial masses lIIS may selectively comprise suitably aggregated material adapted to provide a liquid pervious porous wall mass of desired width or thickness. The material employed to provide the foraminous bodies or interstitial masses I6 should be of such character as to be non-compacting and of such constituent form as to provide substantially uniform porosity, whereby the body or mass is not only pervious to the liquid mixture to be treated, but also adapted to exercise a capillary efect especially upon one constituent of the mixture which is desired to be separated from the other constituent thereof. i

A preferred form of material, which has been found to provide the desired characteristics above referred to, is formed from a knitted mesh fabric, preferably knitted from a metallic wire strand,

. f3 which may be or round, ribbon-like or other suitable cross sectional shape. Such knitted mesh fabric may be folded upon itself, rolled, or other- Wise arranged to form a body mass or masses built up by superposed contiguous layers thereof, and disposed between the keeper walls or grilles 2B, so as to entirely fill the space therebetween from the bottom to the top of the housing interior. The knitted metallic mesh fabric, by reason of its uniformly and selectively sized 'interlinked loops, when superposed and built up into the required body mass, will provide a porous structure, the interstices of which will net-only intercommunicate but Will also be .substantially uniformly distributed throughout the mass, :whereby to both efficiently engage and accurmulativelyY agglomerate oil particles, while at lthe Asarne time exercising a capillary efect on oil bodies thus accumulated therein, whereby to cause the latter, under capillary effect, to tend to ascend through the interstitial mass, jand, 'on "escape therefrom, to collectas a water free *oil 'body at Jand within the "topporti'ons ofthe housing interior.

ASaid housing Ill is provided with alliduid mixture intake 22, which Venters the pide thereof, preferably .at a point adjacent to the lower portion'or bottoni 'of said housing suitably 'allxei within the housing interior, between 'the outermost "foram'inous body oririterstitialmass IB and :said intake 2,2, is a laterally inclinedor angular deiiector baille 23, which laterally 'dellects the ingoing liquid 'mixture soas to .cause .it to flow 'in a given direction around and through 'the outer chamber or Well I1, whereby to uniformly distributethe same around the exterior of said outermost fo'rarninous vbody or vinterstitial vmass "IBfand so asto equalize its hydrostatic pressure and cause "it to uniformly penetrate the latter at all points, by eliminating direct impact of 'the rliquid Vmixture at entering 'velocity "against the portion of said outer'forarninousbody orV interstitialmass (I6 'which is directly opposed t'o 'the 'intake '22. y

Dependent from 'the top w'allIZ of the'hcusihg I0 and axially disposed within thev inner or'ce'n.-

tral chamber-or well I9 thereof,'is ajwater dis- LIU charge pipe 2'4, "the llower intake end of Vvtdiich is 'disposed at the Dlower level of fthe liousifnginterior and 'in `adjac'ently spacedrelationito Vthe bottom 'Wall I I 'of Vvsaid housing. Suitable-povisionyis made, such as the union Vlmember 25, Sfor coupling the 'upper 'end of said water Adiscl'ia'rge pipe '.24 `to a 'water `delivery conduit 26, through 'which water vmay nbe drawn, by'pump or 'other suitable means (not shown) for .delivery to Aa place Of use, such e. g. a 1boilerto which thesclean water is to serve as feed supply.

`-Mounted onthe exterior' side of'the'ho'using' I il, with its Vrespective ends coupled incommunication respectively `with'lipper and l'o'wer levels .of 'the housing interior, is a Atransparent liquid level gage or glass 2l, to visibly'indicate the .separated bodie'sof water and oil, and to .thus show the amount of accumulated separated oil contained Withinthe upper interior 'of the housing dur-ing operation of lthe apparatus.

Means are provided'for tapping on from the apparatus the separated oil accumulated therein. This (means comprises .an oil Vdischarge pipe', provided with a suitably 'located control valve'f2i9. Said oil discharge pipe is .provided withtapping branches 30, vt'l and 32, whichenter throughthe top .Wall I2 Yof the'housin'g 'ID to respectively communicate with the upper 'portions io'f-therespective chambers or wells I1, `I8 andl I9'.

to project exteriorly through the housing side,

and to be suitably coupled to a steam supply line 35.

suitably-located in the side walls of the housing lil -are one or more clean-out manholes, normally closedby removable manhole covers 3B of conventional design.

`Inthe-o`peration of the apparatus, as used e. s. to separate oil from boiler feed water, the mixture of Water and oil is delivered into the interior of the housing I through the intake 22, so as to be deflected by the 'deliector 'baule "3 Land thus caused Ito flow around 'theinterior of l"the charn- "ber or well 'I-'I along the exterior sideof the irslt oraminous body I6. The mixed liquids there lupon penetrate said first 'foraminous body I6, tending to move 'laterally therethrough "so as -rto emerge `from `the inner 'side thereof Vand into an intermediate chamber or well f8. 1Upon/gaining the interior of the foraminous'bod'y |6, the particles 'of voil suspended in the mixture are'to a 4considerable 'extent retarded'inmovementby'con- Vtact with the `mesh material olsai'd "bodyfanda Kso slowed in movement Yas to allow time foi-foil particles to gather Jand 'coale'sca "thus forming 'therefrom enlarged oil bodies. Owing 'to the porous or interstitial and wick-like form'of "the 'foraminous body I6, -4the same'exe'roise's a vcapil- -laryeiect -upon `the 'enlarged oil bodies, whereby the same tend to 'work upward 'through 'the body I6, and, kassisted by vthe pressure-of cross rl'oiwin'g liquid, tend to eventually escape `outwardlythere-- rom intojthe adjacent intermediate chamber or well 18. 4Owingfto'theincreasedmass and'lowergspecic gravity of the `enlarged yoil bodies, which make their way'into the chamber Aor "well '-I8, lsaid bodies `tend :to rise vto the top oi the housing interior, 'wherein they'further tend "to accumulate and forma homogeneousoil mass A'on top -of `and separated from the 'underlying lmass of water. This process is repeated 4as theliqui'd :mixture flows laterally -fromthe chamber orwell I8 into the next adjacent foraminous body T6. In this connection, it will be understood"th'arfalthough lfor the purpose of illustration, lbut `two suchforaminous bodies I6 areshown inthe 'ao- `compariying *drawingsthe'number of 'saidoraminous 'bodies 'and intermediate chambers or Wells is subject to Vwide variation and the 'same 'may comprise a series Ythereof of "any desired'numbe'n accordingly as may lb`e'd"e`er:r1e 'i expedient iin any given case, or where, bj'y reason of 'the 'character 'of a 'given .liquid vmixture to betreated, fit .may bedesirable to subject the same 'to a multiple of "the .successive separation Veffects produced 'by the foraminous bodies IB 4as described.

By reason of the differences in Aspeci'ogravity of v4the oil and water constituents of ytl'ie`.liquicl mixture, 'tendency-of the oil to' rise through .the water to the top thereof and thus Yto I.separate therefrom occurs in all thechambers or wells Il, I8 and "I9, Due however to the expedition of theseparating effect produced by the foraminous .bodies l5, the Water arriving :in `the lowenpart of -the central orlast `chamber or Well I9, will be substantially (free 4from oil content, and consequently at this point provides a body of clean wa- .ter whichmay be withdrawn from the interior ofthe apparatusthroughthe discharge Vpipe 24.

As a body of separated oil accumulates at the top of the housing interior, its presence and amount will be visibly indicated by the gage 2l. Whenthe amount of accumulated oil warrants, the same may be tapped off from the several chambers or well I l, I8 and i9 through the oil discharge pipe 28 and its tapping branches 30, 3l and 3,2, by pump suction or other suitable means.

After a suitably prolonged period of use it is desirable to cleanse the interior of the housing and especially the foraminous bodies I6 thereof. This may be done by closing the intake 22 and the discharge outlets, leaving the liquid content within the interior of the housing, and thereupon discharging into the latter live steam, preferably under suitable pressure, from the steam ring 33. The thus introduced steam will churn the liquid and pass with the same through the foraminous bodies I6 with strong washing and cleansing effect.

Should it be desired to remove the foraminous bodies I6 for replacement, the top wall l2 of the housing may be removed, and said bodies and their supporting grilles may thereupon be removed and replaced. The bottom interior of the housing may be flushed out by removing the manhole covers 36 to provide ingress and egress to ushing uid.

While we have described the apparatus of this invention when used as a separator for removing oil from boiler feed water, it will be obvious that the same may be employed for separating treatment of any other kind of liquid mixtures wherein the constituents are of diiferent specific gravities and are not solubly miscible.

We are aware that various changes could be made in the above described constructions, and that widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof as defined by the herefollowing claims. It is therefore intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for separating the constituents of a liquid mixture, said constituents of which are of dilferent speciiic gravities, comprising a closed housing having mixture intake means entering the side thereof adjacent to its bottom, a series of spaced concentric, liquid pervious, foraminous body masses of substantial thickness extending perpendicularly within the housing interior between the top and bottom thereof adapted to subdivide said housing interior into successive perpendicular chambers, whereby the liquid mixture entering said housing through said intake means may pass from one chamber laterally through a ioraminous body mass into a succeeding chamber for the purposes described, each foraminous body mass comprising superposed layers of knitted metallic mesh adapted to exercise a capillary eifect upon the constituent of the liquid mixture which is of lesser specic gravity, laterally spaced grilles bounding opposite sides of each said foraminous body mass to retain the same in place, means in communication with the bottom interior of said housing for drawing off a separated constituent of the liquid mixture which is of greater specific gravity, and means in communication with the top interior of said housing for drawing oi a separated constituent of said liquid mixture which is of lesser speeilic gravity.

2. Apparatus for separating the constituents of a liquid mixture, said constituents of lwhich are of different specific gravities, comprising a closed housing having mixture intake means entering the side thereof adjacent to its bottom, a series of concentrically spaced, liquid pervious, forami- Vnous body masses of substantial thickness extending `perpendicularly through the interior of said housing from the bottom to the tcp thereof, whereby to subdivide said housing interior into successive perpendicular chambers, whereby the liquid mixture entering said housing through said intake means may pass inwardly from one chamber laterally through a foraminous body mass into a succeeding chamber for the purposes described, said foraminous' body masses being adapted to exercise a capillary effect upon the constituent of the liquid mixture which is of lesser specic gravity, means in communication with the bottom portion of the innermost chamber for drawing oif a separated constituent of the liquid mixture which is of greater specific gravity, and means in communication with the upper portions of all chambers for drawing off a separated constituent of said liquid mixture which is of lesser specic gravity.

3. Apparatus for separating the constituents of a liquid mixture, said constituents of which are of different specific gravities, comprising a closed housing having mixture intake means entering the side thereof adjacent to its bottom, a series of concentrically spaced, liquid pervious, foraminous body masses of substantial thickness extending perpendicularly through the interior of said housing from the bottom to the top thereof and adapted to subdivide said housing interior into successive perpendicular chambers, whereby the liquid mixture entering said housing through said intake means may pass from one chamber laterally through a foraminous body mass into a succeeding chamber for the purposes described, each foraminous body mass comprising superposed layers of knitted metallic mesh adapted to exercise a capillary effect upon the constituent of the liquid mixture which is of lesser speciiic gravity, laterally spaced grilles bounding opposite sides of each said foraminous body mass to retain the same in place, means in communication with the bottom portion of the last chamber for drawingV 01T a separated constituent of the liquid mixture which is of greater specific gravity, and means in communication with the upper portions of all chambers for drawing off a separated constituent of said liquid mixture which is of lesser specific gravity.

4. Apparatus for separating the constituents of a liquid mixture, said constituents of which are of different specific gravities, comprising a closed cylindrical housing having mixture intake means entering the side thereof adjacent to its bottom, a plurality of liquid pervious cylindrical foraminous bodies of substantial thickness extending perpendicularly through the interior of said housing from bottom to top thereof and concentrically spaced relative to each other and to the side Wall of said housing, whereby to divide said housing interior into successive perpendicular chambers comprising outer, inner and intermediate chamber space, a deilector bale extending angularly from the housing side wall so as to be interposed between the intake means and the outer face of the outermost foraminous body, whereby the liquid mixture entering the housing through said momes T7 intakelmeans may pass #from ith-e :outerehamber space to the inner Lchamber :space lat'erally and sueeessivelythrou'gh said fforaminous =loodies and intermediate chamberspace for the-purposes idescribed, said foraminous bodies each icnmprising super-posed layers of knitted :metallic Vmesh fad'apte'd .to exercise a .capillary :effect upon Ithe constituent .of Vthe liquid mixture'whiohiszif :lesser specific fgrav'ity, .laterally Vspaced 'grilles 'bounding .opposite sides :of .each :foramin'ous body Lto lretain ishe fsamem place, means I in :communication with the bottom lporti'on :of fsaid :inner fchaniberspace -for drawing `oil :la separated .nonstiizuent-of the lmuidrmixture i.vlf'liichzis zofzigreater specit: gravity, andimeans-in communication 'with'lthe upperzpor- `tions zof all chamber spaces :for :drawing off a separatedlfconstituent of :said liquid mixture which is of lesser specimgravity.

f5.11n apparatus of :the kind .dened in claim'A, .including a steam ejector `riing mounted Within tliebttom interior portion-.of said housing.

Av'ARCHIBILLD LAWSON. CHARLES M. YOUNG. 

